Author: Glossary

Provider who contracts with a health insurance plan to provide medical services.  

The study of what things are made of. Particle physicists study the fundamental particles that make up all of matter, and how they interact with each other. Everything is made up of these building blocks—leptons, quarks, and force-carrying particles. Leptons and quarks are often called elementary particles. Four different force-carrying particles lead to the interactions…

Oral antidepressant used to treat depression, associated anxiety, and lethargy; side effects may include nausea, sweating, tremor, decreased appetite, and ejaculatory disturbances in men.  

Toxic condition caused by the inhalation or ingestion of the insecticide parathion. Symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, convulsions, and difficulty in breathing, sweating, and signs of stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Poisoning contracted by accidental inhalation or ingestion while working with the pesticide or because of the inadvertent contamination of food products…

Presence of parasites in the blood.  

Toxic condition resulting from ingestion of the pesticide paraquat and characterized by progressive damage to the esophagus, kidneys, and liver, often leading to death. Poisoning due to ingestion of paraquat. People who have consumed paraquat may be treated with oral activated charcoal and, if kidney failure is present, hemodialysis.  

Anticonvulsant used in the treatment of petit mal seizures. Adverse effects include dermatitis, sedation, blood disorders, disturbances of vision, and hepatitis. An anticonvulsant drug used to prevent or reduce petit mal fits in epilepsy. It is administered by mouth; the commonest side-effects include drowsiness, digestive upsets, £md blurred vision.  

Virus causing upper respiratory infections, including the common cold, bronchiolitis, and croup, most commonly in children. Any one of three related viruses that cause a variety of respiratory infections ranging in severity from the common cold to croup to a type of pneumonia. Parainfluenza viruses tend to cause illness predominantly in young children. By adulthood,…

Any of several muscles associated with the atrioventricular valves of the heart. These muscles contract during systole to prevent regurgitation of blood into the atria. A column of myocardium that arises from the floor of each ventricle. It is attached to the chordae tendinae, which anchor the flaps of the atrioventricular valves during ventricular systole.…

Smooth muscle relaxant used to treat cardiovascular or visceral spasm. Adverse effects include jaundice. An alkaloid, derived from opium, that relaxes smooth muscle. It is administered by mouth or injection to treat muscle spasm in such conditions as colic and in sprays for the relief of asthma. It may cause abnormal heart rate. A smooth-muscle…